Written By vibykhmer on Thursday, November 6, 2014 | 7:35 PM

PARIS, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- French PresidentFrancois Hollandesuffered a severe setback after his approval rating hit a record low half way through his five-year mandate, a poll showed Thursday.

According to YouGov pollster, only 12 percent of the 1,006 people interviewed between Oct. 29 and 30 were satisfied with Hollande's policies to treat the country's economic and social problems, making himFrance's most unpopular head of state.

Elected in May 2012, the Socialist head of state pledged to reduce unemployment, promote growth, and trim the budget.

At midterm, France appears to be the weakest performer in theeurozonewith unemployment claims at a record high of more than 3.4 million euros (about 4.2 million U.S. dollars), an economy in tatters due to feeble output and tepid investment, and a budget deficit still above EU requirements of less than 3 percent ofGDP.

Dogged by sliding popularity and a poor economic record, the French head of state is expected to justify and defend his policy later this evening during a question-and-answer session on prime time TV channel TF1.

With a "catastrophic" approval rating, Hollande's attempt to regain people's confidence was "an impossible mission due to lack of results despite the package of measures he announced to lower joblessness and emerge from recession," Gael Slimane, president of Odoxa pollster told Xinhua.